Prime Ministers Show Support for Presidential Selfie

President Barack Obama (R) and British Prime Minister David Cameron pose for a selfie picture with Denmark's Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt (C) next to first lady Michelle Obama (R)

ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images

In a show of support for President Obama, who has taken some heat for a selfie taken during Nelson Mandela's memorial service this week, British Prime Minister David Cameron and Helle Thorning-Schmidt, prime minister of Denmark, say the photo wasn't inappropriate.

"There were lots of pictures taken that day, and I just thought it was a bit fun. Maybe it also shows that when we meet heads of state and government, we, too, are just people who have fun," said Thorning-Schmidt, the Telegraph reports.

She added, "There was a sadness, but it was basically a festive event that also celebrated a man who has lived for 95 years and achieved so much in his life. There was dancing on the stands ... And then we took a really fun selfie."

When questioned about the photo during prime minister's "Questions in the House of Commons" Cameron had this to say:

"In my defense I would say that Nelson Mandela played an extraordinary role in his life and in his death in bringing people together," he said. "So of course when a member of the Kinnock family asked me for a photograph, I thought it was only polite to say yes." Prime Minister Thorning-Schmidt is the daughter-in-law of Neil Kinnock, the former British Labour leader.